If you — like most of the world — binged Heartstopper in a few days or less, there’s a good chance that you’re also a fan of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel/webcomic series, which inspired the Netflix live-action adaptation. If not, maybe you’re not much of a bookworm, but either way, whether you’ve read it for yourself or heard about it through the grapevine, you’ll probably have noticed that the novels and the show have a few stark contrasts.
Generally speaking, Netflix’s Heartstopper is a faithful adaptation of Oseman’s books. And why wouldn’t it be? After all, she wrote the screenplay for the TV series as well as penning the webcomics. If anyone knows these characters inside and out, it’s Alice Oseman. Who better to helm the transition from page to screen? While both the novels and the TV show are well worth your time, we’ve narrowed down all the key differences in case you aren’t inclined to either read or watch the alternative version.
Aled is replaced by Isaac
Aled Last is one of the main protagonists of Radio Silence, the novel series that came years before Heartstopper. He appears again in Oseman’s novella Nick and Charlie, then becomes a recurring character in Heartstopper, where he befriends Charlie, Nick, Darcy, Tara, Elle, Tao, and Sahar Zahid — another character absent from the Netflix show. In Radio Silence, Aled is the creator of the sci-fi podcast Universe City, with which a few fellow students become obsessed.
In Netflix’s Heartstopper, Aled is entirely absent from the cast and is replaced with the original character Isaac. Oseman felt they couldn’t give Aled a satisfying story arc in Heartstopper without derailing the elements of Radio Silence. She instead looks to a hopeful future in which Radio Silence receives an adaptation of its own.
Imogen and Isaac are original characters
As we mentioned, Isaac is an original character who isn’t present in the graphic novels and replaces Aled Last. Isaac isn’t as present as other members of the so-called “Paris Squad,” but he’s certainly a lovable character in his own right. He is joined by 16-year-old Imogen, a friend of Nick’s who acts as his love interest during the first few episodes, before Nick begins to develop romantic feelings for Charlie.
Imogen doesn’t appear in the webcomic, but in the show, she makes it her mission to woo Nick and persistently asks him out. When Nick is questioning his attraction to a boy, he informs Imogen that he doesn’t view her in a romantic light and alludes to his bisexuality. In the end, although she’s visibly disappointed, Imogen supports Nick’s decision and encourages him to come out.
Charlie has a brother called Oliver
In Netflix’s version of Heartstopper, Charlie has an older sister named Tori. She is a central character in Oseman’s Solitaire novel, but gets demoted to a supporting character in Heartstopper. As far as Oseman’s webcomic, Tori is mentioned rarely in comparison to the show, as the attention instead falls on Charlie and Tori’s younger brother Oliver.
According to Oseman, Oliver wasn’t added to the television adaption due to the author not wanting to go through the painful process of finding a child actor, so she gave the Spring family two siblings instead.
Darcy and Tara’s relationship and coming out
When we first meet Darcy and Tara in Netflix’s Heartstopper, they have yet to come out. In the webcomic, their coming out is an event of the past, which is never truly addressed as it’s assumed that Darcy and Tara are already out as both lesbians and romantically involved to the school.
In the live-action show, they announce their coming out at George’s party. It’s also worth noting that the scene in which the girls lock themselves in the music room was scripted purely for Netflix and never happened in the novels.
Tao and Elle’s flirting
In the webcomics, Tao is emotionally invested in Elle, who he seems to chase after. In the Netflix series, the tables have turned and it’s Elle who’s trying to get Tao to notice her. Also in the show, Tao and Elle’s movie night wasn’t in the comics, including Tao’s incredible dance skills.
In the coming seasons, however, which will adapt the next volumes of the graphic novel series, Tao and Elle will eventually start dating. This will allow synchronicity across both the books and the show.
Ben sticks around
Ben’s role in Netflix’s Heartstopper is much more apparent than in the novels. Charlie is out as gay, but Ben is more comfortable living in the closet. This leads to an awkward exchange in which Ben dates a girl in public while secretly meeting to kiss Charlie. Once Ben is satisfied, he tells Charlie to get away from him, afraid that they’ll be seen together. Ben’s manipulation of Charlie doesn’t last, as the latter eventually calls him out for being ashamed of his sexuality.
In the novels, once Charlie rejects Ben, he’s never really seen nor heard from again. In the show, Charlie confronts Ben for being abusive later on, right before announcing his love for Nick to the school.
Charlie doesn’t quit rugby
After shy Charlie begins crushing on popular rugby star Nick Nelson, he figures the best way to steal Nick’s heart is to learn the sport he loves. Against better advice from Elle and Tao, Charlie signs up for the rugby team, despite facing homophobic backlash from Nick’s — and his — teammates. Eventually, much to the coach’s disappointment, Charlie decides to quit the team after finding out that rugby isn’t really for him.
Nick takes pleasure in teaching Charlie the ropes and the pair bond during practice, which leads to their eventual secret relationship. In the webcomic, however, Charlie never quits rugby and remains part of the team, only improving as time goes on.
The milkshake scene never happened
The infamous milkshake scene is one of the most heartwarming moments of the whole Netflix show. After Nick comes out to Tara and Darcy, they make a plan to double-date. Once Elle confesses her feelings for Tao, it becomes a triple-date. They all decide to grab milkshakes at a local stall (which looked delicious, by the way), and this interaction is what prompts Nick to accept himself as bisexual and consider coming out to the rest of his friends and his mother, who accept him.
In the webcomic, the milkshake scene never occurred, so it was written purely to add some context to both Nick and Charlie’s and Elle and Tao’s relationships.
Characters swearing
Although Netflix doesn’t have a profanity filter, Heartstopper is rated TV-14, making it on-par with the likes of Never Have I Ever and Stranger Things, which prevents younger viewers from seeing inappropriate content. There is the use of the F-word in Stranger Things, but Heartstopper completely stays away from any foul language.
As for the graphic novels, there isn’t an abundance of profanity, but there’s certainly a word here and there dropped for dramatic effect. We’re talking about 14-16 year olds here, isn’t it expected that they use some inappropriate words occasionally?
Sports day never happened either
For the uninitiated — i.e. anyone that doesn’t live in the U.K. — Sports Day is an annual event that schools partake in. It’s essentially a miniature version of the Olympics, encouraging students of all ages and abilities to join in for sprint races, javelin throwing, long jump, and other such activities. Students are usually divided into teams and there’s typically a medal or trophy for each winner at the end.
Oseman doesn’t include Sports Day in her novels, but there’s a whole sequence dedicated to it in Netflix’s version. This is the moment when Nick comes out to the whole school by kissing Charlie in front of everyone. He even interrupted his rugby match for his boyfriend. How sweet!